Repelling mice?

I recently came across a discussion about wintering RVs in which people suggested using either balsam fir oil or peppermint oil to keep mice out of the space. Has anyone used either of these oils successfully as a rodent repellent? What other natural means have you used successfully to keep mice away?

Comments

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Gardens Alive sells a repellent made of those types of ingredients. It did not seem to have any effect on the chipmunks we were trying to repel. Of course, these same chipmunks (ground squirrels) live amongst pine trees and cypress. Didn't see any mice, maybe it works for them.

  • Leslie Carl
    Leslie Carl Posts: 255 ✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2019

    I had read that fresh sage would repel mice but never had a need to try it. So when a friend of mine moved into an apartment that had mice, I told her about it and gave her a bunch of sage from my garden to try. She put it in all the places she found tracks and said it worked like a charm and she hasn't had any more trouble with mice since.

  • spowell07
    spowell07 Posts: 37 ✭✭✭

    I have used peppermint Essential oils to repel mice and it does work but I have found what works even better is lemon 🍋 EO’s. I dropped a couple drops on a cotton ball and they will physical run the other way instantly. Good luck.

  • merlin44
    merlin44 Posts: 426 ✭✭✭✭

    My daughter lives in an RV year round and has found solar white Christmas lights hung round the bottom of the RV keeps mice away regardless of location. (The solar aspect is kinda natural-LOL).

    Since a momma cat and her 4 kittens moved into my milking shed where the goat feed is kept, the resident mice have fled. Haven't seen a snake since as well. Never had outside, working cats prior but am appreciating their contribution.

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Mice just twice in winter with no holes in the floor managed to move in the bottom of the oven. A dab of peanut butter on a trap did the trick both times. Then saw here http://www.ourherbgarden.com/herb-history/anise.htm "Anise oil used alone or in combination with cheese an excellent bait for mousetraps.

  • jjocean
    jjocean Posts: 31 ✭✭✭

    The imp of the perverse takes over occasionally in my life. - So.. I saw a recent post about getting feral cats out of the garden. If you take the cats - you solve two problems. I couldn't help it.

  • blevinandwomba
    blevinandwomba Posts: 813 ✭✭✭✭

    @jjocean I keep thinking that whenever I hear about a community overrun with feral cats. Just trap, spay/neuter, and send them to Paris. It's over-run with rats!

    If only it were that simple...

  • In our area (Texas) they are doing trap/spay/neuter/release. They clip the top of one ear so as to easily identify them. They are allowed to form colonies. If we can reduce the birth rate it eventually reduce the population. They do have some benefits such as eating small rodents and eating and deterring snakes.

  • Merin Porter
    Merin Porter Posts: 1,026 admin

    Totally agree -- a barn/outdoor cat is a great addition! Wish we could do that here, but we just have too many large predators in the mountains. We've had a whole lotta neighbors lose their housecat to the local mountain lion....